Broncos Monday Ramblings (BMR): Game 1 Broncos 31 Colts 24 Whew! After surviving an angst-ridden time after the Colts recovered that onside kick, Im looking back and actually feeling fairly positive this morning. But, it did have that feeling that I had late in the San Diego playoff game last year. My friend Matt Zahorik thinks that the issue was Jack Del Rio playing too cautious and utilizing the bend, but dont break philosophy. Matt, quite the contrary (and in a congenial manner), I actually was heartened by how the Broncos defense played and thought that Del Rio played it just about right. Actually, I was much more concerned with the Denver offense in the second half and thought that, for whatever reason, they went into a shell and almost totally lost their edge. My longtime football mentor, Gary Richardson used to tell me that you dont want to look TOO good in the first game of the year. What he meant was that while you certainly want to win the game and show that you have the potential to become a great team, you dont want it to be a finished product. It is a whole lot harder to keep your edge throughout the season than it is to realize that you have several things you can improve upon. Being the glass, half full guy that I am, I choose to look at last nights Broncos victory in that way. So, recounting the bright side of the game against the Colts, I thought that the defense showed terrific resilience in some real adversity. They played really well in the red zone several times. Another thing to remember is that the defense played against the Colts in fourth down conversion mode for virtually the whole fourth quarter. And, against Andrew Luck, that is NOT an easy task! Still, they got a couple of sacks, two picks and were pressuring Andrew Luck consistently. Give the big guy credit, he gets the ball out on time as well as anyone. He does resemble a young Peyton in that skill. I am very impressed by Andrew! Hes smart, agile, tough, hard to being down and its obvious that his teammates are all in with him. I feel the same way about Andrew Luck as I did about a young Peyton, I wish that the Broncos had him! I also thought that the new guys that John Elway brought in on defense: T J Ward, DeMarcus Ward and Aquib Talib showed that they are worth their dough. I really liked the aggressiveness that Ward brings to the party. Other bright spots were Rahim Moore, Bradley Roby and Nate Irving. And, the Broncos interior front with Pot Roast, Sly, Marvin Austin, Derek Wolfe and Malik Jackson shut down the Colts running game and made them one dimensional.I was a little disappointed that Von Miller wasnt more of a force, but I really think that hes still getting his timing back. Its one thing to be fully recovered from an injury and its quite another to regain that little indefinable split second of timing that comes with playing several games. I dont know exactly when that wiil happen, but if the Broncs stay with him, hell get it back and start making plays. As for bend, but dont break: respectfully, I disagree Matt. I mean, give the Colts some credit: they are a potent offensive force and you cant just mega-blitz and leave the back end unattneded. Getting DeMarcus Ware was part of a strategy to be able to get to the QB without bringing more than four, and face it: the Colts protected Luck pretty well.The Broncos did a lot of creative blitzing from a lot of angles, but they couldnt get to Luck because he either got the ball out quickly or was a mini-Roethlisberger in not being easy to bring down. And, when you put as many people in the pattern as the Colts do, you just cant afford to let receivers run free or get behind you. They actually took T Y Hilton out of the game for the most part but that may have reduced their blitzing options. Id like to reiterate though, they did play very well on the goalline in the second half. Offensively, it was pretty evident that Emmanuel Sanders is a great addition to the offense. Orange Julius was a force (except for bobbling that onside kick.) I was diaappointed that Demaryius wasnt more of a factor in the game. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth did point out that he was going against Vontae Davis, who seems to have his number.It looks like the offensive line is much improved and if they can stay healthy, there could be great things. They did struggle a bit when they HAD to run the ball and the Colts knew it, but except for the last real offensive play (not a kneeldown) of the game, they kept No.18 clean and gave him the time he needed to operate. Now, Im just not sure why the offense seemed to have that second half letdown. One thing that ABSOLUTELY drives me nuts is receivers dropping the ball. When you play a pass first style as the Broncos do, you can NOT have receivers dropping ball that they are expected to catch! Im not talking about drops that are missed and you think-that would have been a nice catch. Im talking about drops that SHOULD have been caught and the receiver doesnt concentrate through the process. Aagh!! Dropped passes do more to kill drive than anything I can think of. Last night both D Thomas and Bubba Caldwell were guilty of that mortal sin! A few other observations: I was really upset at the cheap hit that took David Bruton out of the game. It was a hitman style hit in which a blocker from the first line in a kickoff goes after one of the guys just coming off the line as the ball is kicked. Its absolutely a cheap shot, especially when EVERY kickoff last night went unreturned. I was a bit peeved that Michaels and Collinsworth didnt mention that. It knocked Bruton out of the game and possibly for the season. Pure BS! I thought that Brandon McManus looked serviceable in Matt Praters absence. McManus has a very strong kicking leg, but isnt nearly as accurate for over 45 yards like Prater (although NOT the night I saw him in the third pre-season game). It may be that the offense is a little more focused on getting touchdowns without their Prater security blanket. I know that there are going to be skeptics with this remark, but the pass interference call on Chris Harris in the 3rd Quarter was just a totally blown call! This whole dont touch the receiver after five yards concept doesnt work when the defender has position and the RECEIVER initiates the contact! That is what happened on that play and it shows that ANY time you initiate a new rule or highlight it as a point of emphasis there are going to be unintended consequences and unintended abominations. I wonder if it wasnt called specifically to help the Colts get back in the game! Okay, with all of that said, let me conclude by saying that I actually feel better better about the Broncos now that they have some things to work on. I want to see them progressing toward that point where boiling water converts to steel and becomes energy. On to next week and the Chiefs!
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:02:36 +0000
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